Louie Bluie (Criterion Collection)

Crumb director Terry Zwigoff's first film is a true treat: A documentary about the obscure country blues musician and idiosyncratic visual artist Howard 'Louie Bluie' Armstrong, member of the last known black string band in America. As beguiling a raconteur as he is a performer, Louie makes for a wildly entertaining movie subject, and Zwigoff honors him with an unsentimental but endlessly affectionate tribute. Full of infectious music and comedy, Louie Bluie is a humane evocation of the kind of pop-cultural marginalia that Zwigoff would continue to excavate in the coming years. Director-approved special edition features new, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Terry Zwigoff, audio commentary featuring Zwigoff, outtakes and deleted scenes, illustrations by Howard Armstrong, stills gallery and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Sragow.